


Box of Memories

by ArdentSingleton



Series: Taishiro [6]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: M/M, Taishiro Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-25 15:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArdentSingleton/pseuds/ArdentSingleton
Summary: While moving, Taichi and Koushiro go through a box of their possessions and remember some of the stories they connect to. Series of loosely-connected ficlets.





	1. Family

Boxes. Boxes and boxes and boxes. Everywhere.

Taichi was exhausted - the move had taken far more effort than he had been prepared for, and he would rather do anything than start unpacking it all again. So it was a stroke of luck when a young wild-haired boy appeared, carrying yet another box from somewhere deep in the stack.

“What’s this?” He said, tilting his head inquisitively this father.

Taichi smiled, taking the box from his son. Smaller than most of their packing boxes, this specific shoebox contained various mementos that he and Koushiro had saved over the years. Little things that reminded them of the times they’d shared before the kids came along.

“It’s your dad’s and my memory box,” he explained, simply, “like how you and your sister kept those shells we found at the beach, we keep little objects that mean a lot to us, as well. Would you like to know what’s inside?”

His son nodded as he set the box carefully on the table.

“Okay then. You go get the others, and we’ll see what we can find.”

* * *

The family of four sat around the table, as Taichi lifted the lid on the box. He took out items, one by one and placed them on the table: a stack of greetings cards wrapped in an elastic band; an envelope with some folded letters inside; a old and tattered brochure for a summer camp; a used plane ticket; a broken cellphone; a Starbucks name badge with _Koushiro_ scrawled on it… none of the items were large, and some were in better condition than others, but each had been kept for a long time. The quiet glances between the two adults made it clear that these items were special. Sacred, in their own small way.

“So… where do we start?” Taichi asked.


	2. Cards

Koushiro reached towards the stack of cards, pulled off the elastic, and chose one particularly damaged card specifically from the collection. He passed it to Taichi.

“This would seems to be the logical start, don’t you think?”

Taichi grinned as he took it from his beloved. He remembered it well, their first anniversary all those years ago.

* * *

As he knocked on the door, Taichi felt incredibly nervous. He’d been trying to get things ready for weeks, though in many ways it felt like months. Eager to show his boyfriend how grateful he was for the continued love and support, he was stood in the nicest shirt he could find, a deep blue, but it turned almost aqua when the light shone on it. It had a texture like velvet and he’d spent more time picking it than almost any outfit he could remember. Ever.

And it looked like it was about to rain.

Koushiro had once said something from a Scottish poem about how when mice make plans they tend to fall apart. Taichi certainly felt a bit like a mouse right in that moment, staring out at a sky that seemed so much bigger than any amount of control he could have over the night. But he was determined to do it right, no matter what.

There was a cough behind him, and as he turned around he saw the door standing open and a redheaded boy in a bow tie facing him. There was a pause, and a nervous fidget, and a blush, and suddenly Taichi couldn’t help but grin at the boy. He clearly wasn’t the only one who felt strange being so dressed up, and there was something about the way Koushiro looked when he felt awkward that made Taichi all warm inside. He puffed up his chest and gestured forward.

“After you!”

Another pause.

“I don’t believe you’ve told me where we’re going, Tai.”

Taichi nodded and laughed, leading the way, “After me, then!”

Koushiro could only laugh in response, following his boyfriend down to the streets below.

As it turned out, Taichi had a whole day planned out, first they were going to get something nice to eat (his treat), and then they were going to head over to Joypolis and play on the games through the afternoon. Beachfront strolls and night lights and maybe more food after dark, then back to Koushiro’s. And much to Taichi’s surprise, the plan seemed to go pretty well. They arrived at the restaurant, he didn’t make a complete fool of himself while trying to order the Italian food, and the conversation flowed easily. He shouldn’t really have doubted that last part - they’d been together a year now and it had been no different as boyfriends as it had been when they were just normal friends. If they’d ever really been just “normal” friends. It was hard to remember, but the fact remained that they found it easy to talk about whatever came to hand. In no time they had completed their meal, without incident, and it was time to move on.

And yet, just as they were putting on their shoes to leave, there was a loud crack from outside. And as they stepped outside, the heavens opened and the rain poured down.

“Perhaps we should wait inside for a few minutes,” Koushiro stated, calmly, as the raindrops bounced off the concrete and attempted to rejoin their friends in the sky, “it may only last a few minutes.”

So Taichi nodded, and they waited, for what suddenly felt like an eternity. Minutes passed and they stood there, making vague small talk as if they barely knew each other, and just staring at the rain.

“Oh c’monnn” whined Taichi, as the sky flashed and rumbled and the rain got even heavier. He had expected them to be inside the arcade by now, and if he hadn’t insisted they get dessert maybe they would’ve gotten there dry. It was only a few blocks away but there was no way they weren’t going to get completely soaked.

“Well, we gave it our best go, Tai…” Koushiro started, “But I suspect we are just going to have to brave it.”

And he reached into the little satchel he had hung by his side, and pulled out an umbrella. Taichi could’ve kissed him there and then. Seconds later and the two of them were walking (reasonably quickly) under its plastic cover towards the gaming mecca. They arrived at the other end slightly damp and pressed a little closer together than usual, in a way Taichi couldn’t honestly claim he minded. At one point the umbrella had nearly been blown away, and they’d ended up both holding onto it for the rest of the walk - their hands clasped together in a way nobody seemed to notice.

Inside, they tried everything - Koushiro had been particularly eager to expertence the new VR technology (although he seemed more interested in the mechanics than the actual gameplay, Taichi was just glad to see him enjoying himself). They rode the roller coaster and tried the new video games, watched a stage show and experienced the simulators. Koushiro even put up a pretty good fight on the athletics challenge (although Taichi might have gone just a little easy on him). They whiled away the hours, and excitedly waited their turn in the queues, chatting about whatever they’d just left or the things there were still to do. By the time they left, it was dark.

And, of course, Koushiro’s umbrella was missing. It had been set up to dry off, but someone who, like Taichi himself, had not brought their own, had clearly borrowed it.

And so they strolled out into the rain, Koushiro consoling him that it had only cost a few hundred yen and the water wouldn’t hurt them. And that skin is naturally waterproof anyway so it really doesn’t make sense that people get so worried about the rain, the clothes would dry off when they got home, and Taichi sort of zoned out after the mention of wet skin and clothes being taken off to dry. By the time Koushiro had finished explaining, they were both completely drenched anyway. They found a nearby canopy to stand under, and Taichi leaned against Koushiro, who leaned against the railing, and they kissed as the rain battered against the fabric above them, and the sky lit up with sparks.

Watching the lightning reflect in the water of the bay was beautiful, but the lovely fabric of Taichi’s shirt had taken on a lot of water and he soon found himself shivering. Koushiro insisted they return home, despite his protestations. Taichi considered that maybe Koushiro’s poem had been right about after all. He was the mouse, and this had definitely not gone as planned.

Back at Koushiro’s, his mother fretted about their wet clothes and insisted on washing them immediately, while the boys each took a shower. Separately. She hadn’t been quite as blunt about it, saying something about there being plenty hot water for each of them, but she’d made direct eye contact with Taichi as she said it and the message was fairly clear. No shower escapades. As if Taichi would have even considered it.

Distracted, it wasn’t until he got out of the shower that he was suddenly hit by a horrible realisation - his anniversary card for Koushiro had been in his pocket. He had given it along with the gift to Koushiro at lunchtime, so that had gone in his satchel. Protected from the rain and from the washing machine. For some reason he’d taken the card off the table himself - why had he done that? Too late to save it, but at least Koushiro had had a chance to read it first…

* * *

“I didn’t realise until years later that he’d saved the card, even though it was basically destroyed…” Taichi said, staring at his long term partner as if their kids were nowhere near.

He sighed, as his hand covered Koushiro’s. They shared a knowing smile as their daughter pulled the one item she already knew from the box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote Taichi can't really remember is "The best laid plans o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley", from the Rabbie Burns' poem "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785".


	3. Soccer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the big storm that hit the UK screwed up my internet and my schedule, so this all kinda got pushed to the side. I still intend to finish it, as close to on time as possible. I apologise for the delay!

Taichi grinned wide as he noticed the next item picked. Their daughter had picked up the pamphlet from their old soccer camp, the place their lives had all been so massively changed, many years ago.

“Well,” he began, taking the document from her.

* * *

The year was 1999, and Summer was approaching fast. Taichi was sitting on the bench at Soccer practice, observing his team mates as they ran some drills.

* * *

“We know this story!”

Taichi’s train of thought was derailed by his son whining and rolling his eyes. He was quickly joined by the girl sat next to him.

“Seriously dad, you’ve told us this so many times. You wanted to convince dad to go to camp with you but you didn’t think he’d want to because he was much better with computers and science than he was at sport, but you wore him down and he agreed to go with you and you’re so grateful he did.”

Taichi glanced sideways at his beloved Koushiro who seemed to be suppressing laughter that still shone out through his treacherous eyes. He’d find a way to make him pay for that betrayal later.

“So,” Koushiro started while Taichi huffed quietly beside him, “you’ve heard the story about your dad inviting me to soccer camp. But did you know he’s the one who convinced me to join the club in the first place?”

All eyes on Koushiro. Three pairs turned towards him, even Taichi’s seemingly saying “I didn’t know that,” so Koushiro went on.

* * *

In elementary school, Koushiro had been very academic from the start. He was always top of the class in mathematics, and science, and technology, and language, and the list went on. If logic and reasoning was required, Koushiro was bound for success.

But there was a problem: the school required a certain level of physical activity, and Koushiro was one of the clumsiest, least sure footed, utterly useless sportspeople around. Picked last in physical education at every opportunity. Stood on the sidelines, he could figure out the tactics and geometry required that should guarantee success, but in the moment and in actual practice he was unable to make that knowledge come into use. Nonetheless, he needed to pick something, if only so the teachers would stop pestering him and let him get back to his trusty computer.

Luckily, the school’s annual bunkasai was due and he intended to monitor the displays from the various sports clubs. He would be able to see in advance what he was signing up for, and make an informed decision on the data set provided.

The day came, and Koushiro excused himself from the classroom where his computer club had set up their own experience - a museum of technological advances and their predictions for the future - to go watch the sports clubs in the main hall. He arrived as the Kendo club were battling each other on stage. There was no way he could do that. He wouldn’t be sold on martial arts as a hobby until a discussion with a younger friend, Iori, many years later.

The hours went by and Koushiro remained sat, drinking tea, scoring more and more sports off the list. Sports where he would compete solo all got rejected immediately, and most team sports got removed because the team were frighteningly serious and focussed on winning. The closest he’d come to a match was the softball team, and he was pretty sure that asking to be the only boy on an all-girls team would only lower his social standing even further. And yet it remained the only sport on the list so far that hadn’t been scored out.

Koushiro hated sport all the more in that moment.

But then the next team took the stage, the soccer club. The team was mostly male, but there were a couple of girls on the team. That immediately made Koushiro pay attention - none of the other boys teams had been so accepting. And then the team captain introduced the team, and introduced one of their junior members to read their recruitment speech. The boy stood forward, his explosion of untamed brown hair taking a moment to catch up.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlement, we are the Hikarigaoka Soccer Club and we want you to join our ranks!”

The boy’s passion was overwhelming - Koushiro couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. If he was so obsessed, it would undoubtedly be like the other teams. He would be mocked for his inability and cursed for bringing the team down. He would be shunned and ignored. But he was standing on the stage explaining that they practiced four days a week, and that they would accept anyone with any interest or experience, male or female. That there would be no expectation that everybody take part in competitions, that they wanted to share the fun with people and make soccer a more widely loved sport. He even mockingly shook his fist at the captain of the baseball team for their popularity and Koushiro couldn’t help but laugh.

He didn’t score it off the list.

The team started to do their routine, dribbling balls back and forth through a slalom of cones on the stage, and passing to each other. It wasn’t particularly representative of the sport, and if Koushiro were honest, the speech had been more compelling without the demonstration. But then the speech giver, Taichi, got the ball, and he did some tricks with it. He kicked it in the air really high and caught it, passed it from foot to foot, passed it behind him, and then he kicked it. Hard.

Right into the face of a teacher.

The mortified look on the boy spread to the faces of the rest of the team, one of whom (a redheaded girl), rushed off the stage to escort said teacher to the nurse. The crowd had made a clearing around the blood on the floor, and while the janitor wheeled in a mop and bucket, the team captain burst into laughter, slapping the stunned Taichi on the back.

By the time the blood was cleared and the next team had taken the stage, Koushiro had circled the word “soccer” on his list.

Maybe he’d survive doing sports after all.

* * *

Taichi had his head on the table and the children were giggling. Koushiro could almost feel his boyfriend’s eyes boring into him.

“You joined my team because I broke a teacher’s nose with the ball?” He groaned.

Koushiro hesitated, then said, “Well, perhaps, but your speech had already convinced me. And it was the first time I ever heard you speak in public! Who would’ve thought that would lead us here?” He gestured at the walls around them.

Taichi snorted. “Yeah, sure. Nice save. But now we all know the reason you joined is because you thought you couldn’t possibly be as clumsy as me.”

Koushiro grinned.

“Perhaps.”


	4. One Week

Taichi growled quietly as their son reached toward the name badge that was sitting on the table. “Koushiro,” it read.

“So what’s this about? You worked at Starbucks?” He asked his father, confusedly.

“No,” Taichi responded, before Koushiro could, “he never worked at Starbucks,”

“Technically I worked in a Starbucks, but I wasn’t an employee,” Koushiro said, quietly, “I was just studying.”

* * *

Koushiro stood in line, his laptop safely in the messenger bag slung by his side. It had been a gift from Taichi, and he treasured it. He had suggested it was no big deal, but the fact that he’d chosen to give an item that would be permanently attached to his body was not lost on Koushiro.

But here he was, thousands of miles away, waiting for a coffee at the closest Starbucks to his student halls. When he’d moved into Random Hall, the smallest hall on campus, he’d assumed it would be easy to find some space to himself. But there were still close to a hundred residents and nowhere in the building was ever empty. Always people around, and always somebody wanting to ask what he was working on and give their advice on how to improve it. He appreciated the ability to speak openly about incredibly complicated problems, and enjoyed when he sometimes stumped even the doctorate students with the projects he undertook, but by halfway through the first semester he knew he needed to find somewhere he would be left alone to work.

And so, Starbucks. An uninspired cliché perhaps, but it worked. A few blocks away from his room, there was bustle and chatter but nobody interrupted him except to top up his coffee. He had once been asked by a girl on the table next to him what he was working on when she saw his screen full of code, but she had rolled her eyes and called him “one of those MIT nerds” when he’d started to explain. Honestly, he was quite happy for the conversation to be over.

He ordered his coffee and sat near the windows as usual. The rain was battering against the glass, and he found it soothing as his fingers fluttered across the keyboard, typing words in a language only the computer would understand. The hours passed quickly, and the barista kept stopping past to top up his coffee to the point where Koushiro no longer knew how much he had consumed. It took him by surprise, therefore, when his laptop started ringing.

Taichi, of course. Keeping in touch was difficult with the time zones, and it had somehow reached 5pm, which was 7am in Tokyo, which meant Taichi calling for his daily breakfast chat. He stuck his headphones in and answered the call, Taichi’s face popping up on his screen.

“Good morning Tai! I hadn’t noticed the time!”

“You never do, Kou. You get lost in your code… what would you do without me to bring you back to reality?”

Koushiro smiled, he knew it was true. Being so far away had only worsened his hermetic tendencies. Taichi was usually the only one who could keep him socially active, who could bring him out of his little computer bubble when it was time to eat or sleep or engage in activities he would have thought frivolous before they started getting closer.

They chatted about general niceties - Koushiro’s continued settling in process, and Taichi’s continued surprise that Boston beyond the MIT boundaries was still apparently considered a mystery. Taichi in return would keep Koushiro up to date on his classes and coursework, tell him about how their friends were getting on. It was a daily ritual, and he looked forward to it. 

“Why is that barista coming back over again?” Taichi asked, out loud. Koushiro wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hear that, Taichi had a habit of accidentally saying things aloud. So he just ignored it, until the question was repeated.

“Seriously - why is he serving you again?”

“I believe it’s just the custom here, Tai. Americans are all about hospitality, they want to ensure I am getting as much caffeine as I need.”

“But you buy a small cup, and that guy has just kept topping it up and up. Every single day this week he has been back and forth to your table, giving you unlimited refills. It’s weird, Kou.”

“I considered that myself, but apparently refills are standard policy at Starbucks in the US. He assured me it was nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, Kou, he’s flirting with you. The policy is that you go to the country and ask for a refill, not that he constantly dotes on you. He isn’t even filling up anyone else’s anymore, he stopped pretending like three days ago!”

“How do you know what the policy is?”

“What?" 

“How do you know what the Starbucks policy on refills is in their US branches?” Koushiro asked, again.

“I looked it up.”

“What?!”

“I looked it up, when the dude kept popping up to offer you more coffee in the middle of our call every day, it was weirding me out and so I checked to see I wasn’t being paranoid because I knew you would just say it was nothing and it’s not nothing - he’s flirting with you.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Koushiro said, definitely.

“How can you say that, Kou?”

“It would be against policy, and highly unprofessional. This is a corporate environment, he wouldn’t just make advances at a customer.”

Taichi audibly groaned, and smacked his head off the table. The noise made Koushiro jump. 

“Not everyone takes their job so seriously, Kou. I thought you’d know that by now…”

Koushiro sighed, and looked over his shoulder at the barista. He got a wave and a smile in response. Taichi was being stupid, right? A successful chain like Starbucks wouldn’t possibly grow so large by hiring staff that would openly flirt with the customers while on duty. It would be unethical, and they would be risking a lawsuit or something.

“The dude is waving right at you, you cannot tell me I’m making this up, Kou.”

“Fine.”

There was no reaction other than the visual of a flabbergasted Taichi.

“I’ll go ask him.” 

And before Taichi could stop him, Koushiro got up out of his seat, setting his headphones carefully on his keyboard, and walked up to the counter.

He returned moments later, his face matching his hair in colour. He showed Taichi a Starbucks apron badge, with the name _Koushiro_ scrawled on it in cursive writing, and a doodled logo with short red hair instead of the crown.

“I told you.”

“I didn’t even get to ask! When I got to the counter, he said I spend more time here than half the staff, and gave me this. I’m not sure whether it’s a compliment or not that he drew me as the Siren.”

“Pretty sure it proves that I’m right though,” Taichi rarely sounded smug, but this was one of those occasions.

Koushiro sighed loudly, hung up and packed his bag.

* * *

“I found a new coffee shop the next day,” Koushiro said quietly, turning the badge over in his hand.

“I never asked you to do that, though. And I certainly didn’t ask you to avoid the shop entirely for the next three years.” Taichi laughed, as he rested his hand on Koushiro’s shoulder.

Koushiro’s blush was at risk of becoming permanent as he quickly tried to change the subject.

“What’s next? This?” He said, grabbing the nearest object - an old and badly broken piPhone.

 


	5. Bad Connection

The piPhone had definitely seen better days.

“It was my first, _the_ first, piPhone.” Koushiro said, turning it over in his hands, “I had been lucky enough to get it second hand off a guy in my halls. Gave me it dirt cheap since he’d seen me working on my piBook every day. He thought I’d be the only one willing to overlook how unreliable its reception was.” 

“You probably were,” Taichi agreed, nodding sagely. Koushiro glared at him.

* * *

Koushiro was walking along the street. The sun was shining, and he had promised Taichi he would get out more. Plus he’d read a whole bunch of studies that said the brain was much more effective after exercise, and he had some pretty major exams coming up.

Plus, on the street, nobody paid specific attention to you, which made it a perfect place to talk to his boyfriend. Or at least it would be, if his phone could keep a steady connection. 

“I’m telling you, I…” he said, as the line crackled and Taichi’s voice faded in and out. He stared at his phone. “…I’ll call you back.”

He walked the streets for what felt like ages, checking his phone repeatedly and seeing if the little bars in the top corner were full. He ended up climbing up a fire escape of a nearby buidling, sitting two storeys up on the roof, resting his back against a massive sign promoting the building’s contents to the passersby below. Koushiro himself couldn’t care less about the sign, he was just happy to have proper coverage again. He swiped through his contacts and selected Taichi.

“Did you miss me?” Came the voice from the other end, and Koushiro felt his whole body relax.

“I’m incredibly sorry, Tai. It was just…”

“…your phone. I know, I know. Why do you even persevere with that thing?” Tai said at the other end. And although the words sounded critical, he could tell from the inflection that Taichi was laughing at him.

“It’s incredibly useful, Tai. It has easy access to my email and a proper keyboard, plus it does without the awful mobile-friendly web. I can access real webpages on this thing, it’s like a miracle. I can’t believe the folks at Pineapple came up with it, but it seems so obvious as well. 

“But it can barely make a phone call.”

“Well yes, that’s certainly an issue. I’m sure it’ll be sorted in the future though. And you’d miss it if I got rid of it.” Koushiro laughed, quietly.

“Why?”

“Well you seem to like the camera, no?”

Silence came from the other end of the line. Then a sound suspiciously like a tanned soccer stud flopping onto a mattress. And a low groan. 

“I hate you, Kou.”

“I know. That’s why you’re there, right? You hate me too much to leave me alone.”

“Exactly.”

“Speaking of the camera…” Taichi said, trailing off hopefully.

“I’m on a rooftop, Tai.”

“So nobody can see?" 

“Tai.”

“Fiiiine,” he whined, in a way that had Koushiro quite genuinely considering just going along with whatever might be asked of him. But he was in public, and he was a good kid at a reputable school and he was not going to throw that away just to prove that his phone had uses beyond its patchy cell reception. 

“Maybe later?” He offered, receiving a hum of agreement from down the line.

“I’ll look forward to it,” along with some very suspicious sounds that Koushiro did not want to analyse too carefully right at that moment.

He stared out at the skyline, sprawling as far as he could see in every direction. He’d gotten used to it in Boston these last few years, was starting to feel properly at home. The city was different from Tokyo, significantly less bustly, and much more connected. People seemed to actually know each other in a way they didn’t back home. And his red hair didn’t stand out quite as much, supposedly thanks to the Irish heritage that the whole city seemed to claim as their own.

Unfortunately one thing the city offered that he didn’t appreciate was a significant number of pigeons, and right at that moment, as he was listening to his boyfriend saying words he desperately wanted not to get too caught up in, he didn’t notice one getting a little too close. A little too curious. It waddled along the top of the sign right above his head, and just when Taichi made a particularly alluring non-verbal sound, the pigeon decided to spread its wings and dart downward onto the rooftop, passing inches away from his face.

In shock, Koushiro’s whole body suddenly tensed and twitched, and as if in slow motion he watched his precious piPhone slip from his grasp, finding its way against all odds right between the gap at the bottom of the sign. He heard an almighty crack and a “HEY WATCHIT” as it hit the sidewalk two storeys below.

He rushed down the fire escape as if time was of the essence, and found a badly dented metal shell with the screen smashed to pieces, and parts of the plastic antenna cover missing completely. He knelt on the ground over its mangled remains and pushed his fingers nervously through his hair.

After a few minutes of mourning, it suddenly came back to him what had been going on when he dropped the phone.

“TAICHI” he yelped, scooping up the phone and dashing back to his halls. He needed to explain what had happened, reassure the boy that it had been an accident and that he hadn’t intentionally ended their moment.

* * *

“A few days later, I got an unexpected delivery of the latest piPhone model,” Koushiro said, glancing at Taichi.

“The sender never revealed themselves, but it crossed my mind that the advertising had been rather heavily promoting its improved camera.”

Taichi laughed out loud. The kids looked horrified.


	6. If We Wait

Taichi opened the envelope and slid out two letters. One, his acceptance letter for Toudai, he had worked harder to get than he had ever worked in his life. He had stressed for months about the piece of paper, a single white sheet with very few words on it, and it seemed so trivial all these years later.

Especially when compared to the other letter, received a single year later.

* * *

The moment Koushiro sat down, Taichi could tell something was wrong. And no small thing - it was not unusual for there to be a certain look in his eyes when he was struggling to find the words to say something unpleasant. But the look in them right in that moment, somewhere deep within the often unreadable darkness, was different. Koushiro didn’t want to tell Taichi this problem at all.

In that moment, Taichi knew everything was over.

He waited for the other boy to start.

And waited.

He could feel his ramen getting cold. He could see the beautiful hair on his boyfriend’s head quivering, belying the person underneath’s attempt to appear calm. He could hear the bustle of the university cafeteria around him fading more distant by the minute.

And then a pale hand silently slid an envelope across the table towards him.

Taichi swallowed his mouthful of soup and picked up the envelope. He looked questioningly at Koushiro, who nodded once and quickly averted his gaze.

With a sigh, he pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it.

“Dear Mr Izumi,” The letter read, in perfect English, “We are honoured to extend to you a scholarship to study at our prestigious facility, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

Taichi’s heart sank.

His English had been acceptable in high school, and though it wasn’t his best subject, he understood enough of the sentence to know he didn’t need to read more. He wasn’t so stupid he didn’t know what MIT meant. And he wasn’t so awful a person that he didn’t realise his boyfriend needed to take this opportunity. His whole life had basically been leading up to this, and Taichi couldn’t possibly ask him to…

“Tai?”

Taichi looked up from the letter. Koushiro was staring right at him, his eyes burning a hole right through his heart. Little cracks started splintering off the hole it left, the shards threatening to crumble the entire structure all at once.

“This is amazing, Kou!” Taichi attempted to say as genuinely as possible, “I mean, this is basically what you’ve always dreamed of! One of the most impressive universities in the world is basically begging you to join them. You can’t say no to this kind of recognition!”

Koushiro feigned a small smile. It wasn’t even close to believable.

“But… what about us?” He said, in an almost inaudible whisper, “Doesn’t it matter?”

Taichi reached a hand across the table, taking Koushiro's

“Kou. I love you more than anyone I’ve ever known. A thousand miles couldn’t come between us.”

“Seven.”

“What?”

“Seven thousand miles. Nearly. Six point seven, as the crow flies. It’s almost exactly half way around the world, Tai. A 14 hour time difference.”

“Oh. That’s a lot,” Taichi hesitated, “but we can still cope, right? You use your computer to talk to Mimi when she’s in America, we can do the same. We already do the same, we would just be further apart!”

“I suppose that’s true.” Koushiro said, quietly. He still seemed uncertain. “But what if you meet someone closer?”

“What if you do?” Taichi said back, straight faced.

“That’s simply not possible, Tai!” Koushiro said, the most animated he’d been all day. “I could never!”

“So why do you think I would?” Taichi said, “I don’t want to replace you. You complete the parts of me that I never even knew were there! There’s no way I would’ve gotten into Toudai without you, Kou, no way I would’ve even thought it was something I could aim for.”

Koushiro’s small smile had returned, looking more genuine this time.

“I’m in this for the long haul, Kou. You should know that by now. You have to do this, and we’ll just… we’ll make the distance work. We’ll talk every day. 14 hours apart, right? So either I can call you at breakfast, which will be like…” he counted on his fingers, “…5pm for you, right, or you can call me at breakfast, which will be like…” he counted again, “9pm for me? I mean that sounds pretty doable if you ask me. It’ll be fine! You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily!”

Koushiro’s smile grew a little further.

“You really think I should go?”

“I do. Definitely.”

Koushiro sighed, and drummed his fingers gently on the table. He looked deep in thought, so Taichi didn’t try to interrupt. He instead tried to convince himself that this was for the best, that if they waited they would be back together in no time. Told himself that if you truly love someone, you have to set them free. He was sure he’d seen that in a fortune cookie once. Or possibly a bottle cap. Either way, it seemed to have predicted his future. He sure hoped the other fortune cookies didn’t all have the same amount of accuracy, some seemed very foreboding. Taichi would patch up the small cracks in his heart, and in a few years Koushiro would return to Tokyo, and they’d pick up again like nothing had ever changed. It would be fine.

It would be fine.

* * *

“Of course, it didn’t quite go to plan. Even with the technology we have today, time zones are a much harder obstacle to overcome than distance is. That Starbucks asshole didn’t help, either. Watching him hit on my Kou-chan had gotten me a little paranoid.”

“A lot paranoid,” Koushiro corrected, “though there was no way I would’ve taken any of the offers I got, I…”

“ _any_ of the offers?”

Koushiro blushed and pursed his lips slightly.

“So I made the right choice then,” Taichi said, reaching towards the remaining objects.


	7. Outside the Lines

Taichi picked up the used plane ticket, running his thumb slowly along the perforated edge.

“I definitely made the right choice.”

* * *

Taichi tried to control his breathing. He had always been the kind of guy to just launch into a plan without thinking. Always. But usually the one who did the thinking was Koushiro, and on this occasion Koushiro was the one boy who had no idea about what he had planned.

God he hoped it wasn’t a disaster.

He took one deep breath, and walked into the coffee shop.

“Hey, is this seat taken?” He said, in his best English. The boy in front of him glanced up from his laptop.

“…TAI?!”

“Hey Kou!” Taichi grinned wide and flopped into the seat as Koushiro closed his laptop and stared at him.

“What happened? Why are you here? Is everything okay?” Koushiro said, unusually panicked.

“Everything is fine, Kou, I just thought I’d come see you. I missed your face! That’s allowed, isn’t it?”

Koushiro relaxed and regained his calm demeanour.

“It would seem natural to mention it before you travel around the world just to see my face… Not that it’s not appreciated, it is, it’s a lovely surprise, but… I’m having a hard time getting my head around it, Tai.”

Tai looked away.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, obviously! What are you doing this weekend?”

“Nothing specific, just studying, Tai. You know that, we spoke about it yesterday.”

“Wrong! You’re coming to New York with me!” Taichi grinned.

Koushiro broke into a smile, slid his laptop in his bag, and was halfway through putting on his coat as Taichi caught him, giving him the tightest bear hug he’d given in years.

They went to pick up some clothes from Koushiro’s room, and he gave Taichi a quick tour of his halls, introducing him to some of his friends and classmates. On their way out, Koushiro grabbed a pack of Pop Tarts from the kitchen.

“You gotta try these,” he said, handing one to Taichi, “I think you’ll like them a lot.”

And he did. Taichi had missed that ability of Koushiro’s to know him better than anyone else. And so he wolfed down the strange cardboard-like pastries coated in icing as Koushiro explained to him how to use the local transportation, and they made their way through Boston to South Station.

The train to New York was less crowded than Taichi had expected, and they passed the hours talking excitedly about their friends back home, and Koushiro’s time in Boston, and some of the interesting facts he’d learned about American behaviour and life. Koushiro brought up a movie on his laptop, though Taichi spent most of it just watching it reflect off the face of the boy next to him. Once they reached the city, space became much more of a premium. He certainly wasn’t complaining about having Koushiro pressed against his chest. He relished the physical contact - it had been far too long.

When they finally left the subway system, Koushiro stretched and leant against the railings at the top of the exit. He yawned. Taichi had always sort of liked the way he could catch a glimpse Koushiro’s pale midriff shining out when he stretched.

“So where are we going, Taichi? Did you book a hotel near here?” Koushiro said, groggily. The train journey had taken a long time, and without much opportunity to move around they were both feeling quite tired.

“I might’ve done something dumb, Koushiro.”

Koushiro looked concerned, “What’s happened? Do we not have anywhere to stay?”

Taichi swallowed audibly.

“We do. But, I left Toudai,” he said as Koushiro’s eyes widened, “I got a one-year exchange with NYU.”

Koushiro’s expression changed, and Taichi wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. He could normally read his boyfriend fine, but this was a face he didn’t recognise.

“You’re going to be living in New York?”

Taichi nodded.

“…Here?”

Taichi nodded.

“Why didn’t you _tell_ me, Tai?!” Koushiro said, his voice loud and exasperated.

“I already told you, I wanted it to be a surprise. So… you wanna see my apartment?” Taichi grinned.

Koushiro’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Taichi laughed, and led the way as his boyfriend followed alongside. As they climbed up the steps, Taichi reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

“I’m still waiting on a bunch of my stuff, okay? So don’t judge it too quickly?”

Koushiro smiled and took Taichi’s hands.

“I’m sure it’s great, Tai. I’m still just amazed you’re here.”

Taichi let go and unlocked the door, letting Koushiro in. The apartment was small, and a little old, but it was a private space and they were used to cramped conditions from living in Tokyo anyway. They both collapsed on the couch, and Taichi picked up the phone, ordering in a pizza as red hair rested against his shoulder.

When the pizza delivery guy pressed the buzzer, Taichi jolted awake. He felt the weight against his side and slowly remembered where he was. Doing his best to not disturb the other, he peeled himself off the couch and took the delivery.

Abandoning it on the kitchen worktop, he slid himself back up against a groggy (though no longer fully asleep) Koushiro. He pulled the boy close against him.

Taichi preferred breakfast pizza anyway, and there would be plenty more weekends to come.

* * *

“I still can’t believe you hid it from me, for _months_ , that you had applied to transfer for the year,” Koushiro said, to Taichi.

“Yeah, it took all my effort not to tell you. I wanted to so bad!” Taichi admitted, before suddenly noticing the time, “Anyway, it’s getting late.”

Koushiro agreed, and sent the kids to get ready for bed. The other items were put back into the box, waiting for another day. They’d known each other for more than thirty years, no way could all their memories be contained within a single evening. A lifetime wouldn’t be long enough.


	8. Future

Koushiro lay in bed, waiting for Taichi. It had been a long day and Taichi had a new job to start, so it was important that they got an appropriate amount of sleep. You shouldn’t run a country half asleep, after all, although he knew Taichi almost certainly would be doing exactly that within a few days. But Koushiro could at the very least ensure that for the first day, Taichi had gotten enough sleep.

He was joined moments later by a weight on the other side of the bed, shuffling in under the covers.

“Hey, Kou?” Taichi said, uncertainly.

“Yes, Tai?”

“I was just thinking - we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve been _together_ a _long_ time.”

“We have,” Koushiro agreed.

“So will you marry me?”

Koushiro turned to look at the man next to him.

“…Why?”

“Why??” Taichi echoed, “That’s your response?”

“Well, I mean, like you said yourself, we’ve been together for more than a quarter of a century now. We have kids. We live in the same house and share the same bed, and the whole country considers me as your other half. Aren’t we basically already beyond needing a piece of paper to join us together? I don’t imagine it would make a big difference”

Taichi hummed under his breath.

“I guess. I just thought I probably have enough votes to legalise it, and it’d be kinda nice to make it official.”

“You really think they’ll allow it?”

“I think I can swing the last few people, yeah,” Taichi brushed his fingers through his hair as he spoke.

“I see. Then I suppose it would be logical to demonstrate how it works. Plus it would make legal documents easier to complete.” Koushiro said, leaning over to switch off the light.

“Wait!” Taichi said, pulling Koushiro back, “I got this, just in case!”

He reached over and opened the drawer in his bedside table. He pulled out a small box, and opened it for Koushiro.

“I put it on a chain, I wasn’t sure if you’d feel maybe a little too feminine with a diamond on your finger.” He said, sheepishly.

“I’ll wear it proudly, Tai.”

Taichi beamed, and as he slipped the engagement ring off the chain and over his betrothed’s finger, it glinted magnificently in the lamplight. Koushiro leaned over again to switch off the light, as Taichi pulled out his phone, texting Hikari. She’d been waiting a very long time, after all. She deserved to be the first to know.


End file.
